Valuable research insights to steer pharma’s HCP engagement impact

What do healthcare professionals (HCPs) demand from interactions with pharma in 2024?

With the shutdown of face-to-face activity during the pandemic, pharma was forced to embrace digital content provision, putting the Industry in closer alignment with the preference of time-poor HCPs who have come to expect convenient and on-demand access.

This is reflected in new multi-stakeholder research that reveals clinicians now favour no less than eight online sources of scientific information over meetings with pharma sales reps or medical science liaisons. In addition, the EPG Health report on ‘The Future of HCP Engagement Impact’ found that two-thirds of HCPs have noticed improvements in provision via digital channels in the last two years.

The new reality is that HCPs have more options than ever before and, for many in the industry, this has made cutting through the noise in the online space a significant challenge.

To achieve impact, digital HCP engagement strategies must increasingly be underpinned by clear understanding of their evolving needs and preferences, with a view towards delivering content that is timely, relevant and personalised. Deliver real value, or HCPs will simply choose not to engage.

The research suggests pharma is taking steps to close the gaps. Insight into HCP needs and behaviour emerged as the industry’s number one strategic priority for the year ahead (cited by 57% of pharma).

Aligned to this, there are signs that greater attention is starting to be paid to HCP calls for improved access to disease-focused content – as opposed to promotional content. While supplying brand information remains pharma’s top priority over disease awareness, 27% expect future budget increases for the latter, versus only 17% for the former.

HCPs will also welcome the fact that MSL activities – listed as critical or very important by 84% of pharma respondents – have overtaken sales force (77%) for the first time as the industry’s most important channel for delivering scientific content.

However, this alone is not enough to satisfy evolving HCP preferences. Independent medical websites are their number one preferred source, with 74% describing these as critical or very important. Despite this, pharma remains overwhelmingly focused on delivering its own content via its own channels, even though the industry itself reports the greatest impact via independent medical education.

The research speaks to the need for a diversified channel mix and hints that relinquishing some control of content message and delivery may ultimately be necessary to build credibility and impact with HCP audiences.

Keeping up with HCPs’ evolving needs is just one part of the difficulty facing pharma. The research shows that ‘demonstrating behavioural impact and outcomes’ is now the second most pressing challenge in digital HCP engagement, with 63% describing this as a major challenge (just behind demonstrating financial ROI, at 69%).

Currently, many still place primary focus on basic ‘reach’ metrics. Very few (less than 20% of pharma) are actually assessing the fulfilment of educational needs or influence in clinical practice. But these are critical to determine whether real impact is being created.

With most HCP engagement having moved online, data analytics can now be leveraged to demonstrate impact in a more meaningful way.

By delving into their learning behaviour, it is possible to understand how HCPs are engaging and what they have consumed. In turn, this evidence of active learning gives vital context to assessments for knowledge gain, improved competence and clinical behaviour change.

Informed by the research, this approach is successfully employed by EPG Health, which uses a digital Impact Outcomes Framework to deliver and assess the impact of medical education programmes on Medthority (www.medthority.com), its independent learning platform for HCPs.